GPGPU embedded DSP module is AFT-cooled

Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions (CWCDS) announced what is said to be the industry’s first rugged Air Flow Through (AFT) cooled GPGPU embedded DSP module. The announcement of the AFT version of CWCDS’ VPX6-490 GPU Application Accelerator, a dual NVIDIA GPU-based 6U VPX module based on NVIDIA’s 240 CUDA core Fermi architecture, follows the recent environmental qualification of the ANSI/VITA 48.5-2010 compliant version of the board. The VPX6-490, CWCDS’s latest technology signal and image processing engine, delivers 864 GFLOP (peak) performance. With AFT cooling, at typical maximum operating air-borne and ground ambient air-temperatures of 55 degree C, the board can operate at 160 W without de-rating performance for thermal management. The VPX-490’s ruggedized version of NVIDIA’s MXM module enables it to operate optimally over the full -40 to 55C inlet air military temperature range. The VPX-490 has also passed full conduction cooled shock and vibration qualification. Enhanced with support for AFT cooling, CWCDS’s highest performance DSP processor boards can now operate at higher levels of power dissipation compared to conventional conduction cooled systems that depend on heat exchangers in the system chassis. AFT cooling enables system designers to develop and deploy more powerful computing platforms than ever before.